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Chapter 167: Entering the Right-Side Passage
Mashuel took up the rear, suppressing the spiders that managed to charge through Muhuell's fiery bombardments, while Golem continued to spearhead the vanguard.
The most frustrating part of fighting in the narrow passageway was dealing with the piled-up spider corpses.
Fortunately, Ronin had brought Owl with him in his ninja tool pouch.
Whenever the number of spiders slaughtered by Golem reached a certain threshold, Ronin would deploy the Fun Fun Cloth, enveloping the mass of corpses, shrinking them down, and tossing them behind the squad.
This not only cleared the path for the team to advance smoothly but also created a physical obstacle for any spiders trying to chase them from behind.
However, this action left the mercenary squad thoroughly bewildered. This ability completely contradicted the Nen category Ronin had previously displayed.
This was undeniably a Conjuration-type ability.
Although Transmutation and Conjuration were adjacent on the Nen hexagon, mastering both to such a high degree was incredibly difficult. Even a genius would struggle to achieve it, leading them to wonder if Ronin wasn't a Transmuter as they had guessed, but rather a Specialist.
But even then, it felt a bit unbelievable.
Seeing their confusion, Ronin offered a brief explanation. "This isn't my ability. I acquired the right to use it from someone else."
He didn't elaborate further; in his mind, that was enough. After all, he couldn't exactly summon Owl and show him off to the group.
Hearing his explanation, the squad breathed a collective sigh of relief, though they quickly shot Ronin apologetic looks. Prying into someone's Nen abilities was considered quite intrusive.
Ronin just gave them an amused look, deciding not to comment on it.
Regardless, having Owl's ability significantly boosted their travel speed through the tunnel. As they finally exited the passage and returned to the main hall with the three entrances, the chaotic sounds of gunfire and intermittent explosions echoed in their ears.
It seemed that while they had been busy exploring the underground city, the spiders had successfully pushed through the entrance and were now spilling out of the ruins entirely.
Ronin cast a slightly worried glance toward the entrance of the right-side passage.
"There wasn't much danger over there, at least not in the areas we've already mapped. If you're concerned, have Vanessa go in with you to scout it out," Muhuell said, picking up on Ronin's thoughts.
The mercenary squad's next objective would likely be assisting the royal army in cleaning up the spiders flooding out of the ruins. There was no strict requirement for Ronin to join that particular fight.
"Sounds good," Ronin agreed.
Vanessa materialized from the shadows, waved for Ronin to follow, and melted back into the darkness, rapidly speeding toward the entrance of the right-side passage.
With a flash of movement, Ronin stopped holding back. Any spiders blocking his path were casually dispatched—punched, kicked, or sent flying into the walls.
The ones hit in their vital spots died instantly, while a few of the tougher ones managed to twitch and struggle back to their feet.
Before they could fully recover, however, Nen-infused bullets ripped through their bodies. The mercenaries were providing covering fire, ensuring that none of these spiders accidentally unlocked Nen from surviving an aura-infused attack.
These giant spiders had exceptionally robust physiques. If they actually managed to survive Ronin's strikes and had their aura nodes forced open, there was a real chance they could awaken to Nen.
Even if they only used it instinctually without any real intelligence, their combat power would skyrocket.
Therefore, the mercenary group had established a strict protocol early on: any target struck by a Nen ability had to be confirmed completely dead.
Ronin's speed was incredible; in the blink of an eye, he was already catching up to Vanessa.
Interestingly, as they approached the right-side passage, the number of spiders noticeably decreased. In contrast, the entrance to the middle passage was swarming with them, with some even fighting and squeezing their way into the middle tunnel.
It was almost as if whatever scent was coming from the middle passage was far more enticing to them than the outside world.
After clearing out the stragglers at the entrance, Ronin and Vanessa stepped into the right-side tunnel.
They encountered a few scattered spiders at first, but after a few minutes of walking, the monsters vanished completely. Instead, they began to spot other people who had ventured into this passage ahead of them.
These groups had clearly handled a fair share of the spiders themselves.
Upon seeing Ronin, they immediately began asking about the situation outside. After all, not everyone could butcher the spiders as effortlessly as Ronin and Muhuell's mercenary squad.
Ronin gave them a brief rundown of the chaos outside. As for what they chose to do with that information, that was none of his concern.
Throughout these interactions, Vanessa never once emerged from the shadows.
With the Sharingan's visual prowess, Ronin could effortlessly track her movements, but the others were completely blind to her presence. They didn't even realize Vanessa had just slipped right through their own shadows.
Vanessa's Nen ability really is tailor-made for assassination!
The two of them moved rapidly. Before the other explorers could even formulate follow-up questions, they had already vanished deeper into the tunnel.
The people left behind exchanged uneasy glances, but none of them immediately rushed back toward the exit to join the fight outside. Since the royal army and the mercenaries were already handling the breach, their best bet was to just be patient and wait it out.
After traversing the lengthy passage, the area they arrived at wasn't nearly as massive or grandiose as the underground city. Instead, it closely resembled a complex of tombs.
Looking ahead, they could see numerous rooms and distinct traces of habitation.
Vanessa stepped out from Ronin's shadow. "This was the first area we explored when we arrived. There are only a few monsters here. Mostly, it's just signs that people used to live here. I just don't know what connection the people who lived in these rooms had with the underground city below."
"The place where we found clues related to the Kurta Clan is in a room a bit further ahead. I'll take you there first. However, the Captain packed up all the actual items we found. He should show them to you once we get out of here later."
Vanessa circled past Ronin and began walking at a steady pace.
Ronin kept up, his eyes scanning the interiors of the rooms they passed.
Signs of ransacking and hurried searches were everywhere. Knowing that the Ateli Kingdom didn't care about preserving the ruins, the explorers who came here clearly had no intention of treading lightly.
"These messes weren't just made by our current batch. Some of these traces are much older," Vanessa explained.
Ronin thought for a moment. "Tomb raiders?"
"Exactly. The very first people to discover the Mahavi Ruins were a crew of tomb raiders. It was their greed that unleashed the monsters from the middle passage. When the creatures attacked a nearby town, it finally forced the Ateli Kingdom's military to intervene," Vanessa elaborated as they walked.
As they ventured deeper, Ronin noticed that the chaotic signs of ransacking began to lessen.
Instead, men standing guard began appearing outside certain rooms. Seeing Ronin and Vanessa approach, these guards immediately tensed up.
However, once they realized the duo harbored no ill intent and weren't trying to hijack their claimed rooms, they relaxed slightly, though their eyes remained glued to Ronin and Vanessa until they were completely out of sight.
Some of these people were from the same batch that had entered the ruins with Ronin, while others were excavation crews that had arrived much earlier.
Soon, Vanessa halted her steps. Outside the room in front of them stood two guards.
These men, however, were wearing the familiar combat uniforms of the Rock Mercenary Group.
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